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Through a Glass Darkly by Jennifer Webster Black Rose Writing
book review by Barbara Deming
"Forget, Lily. My sweet Lily. Forget."
Psychology doctoral student Lily Wright is haunted by disturbing dreams of a traumatic event. In time, she comes to believe these are repressed memories. Her only solace is meeting the charismatic, though secretive, Gabriel Martin. She is drawn to him almost instantly. After a short on-off show of emotion from Gabriel, Lily finds herself plunged into a whirlwind romance when he admits she is "the one."
Friend Nathan realizes that mutual love is unrealistic and attempts to protect her from this strange new interest in her life, or perhaps from Lily herself. Suddenly Gabriel, desiring to save her from the evil surrounding him, vows to forget Lily. Otherworld danger threatens her in spite of these efforts, and he returns to accept her love and to offer answers to Lily's forgotten past. In doing so, Gabriel must reveal the vampire behind his charming mask.
One last dream, the one where Lily sees Gabriel's death, plagues her thoughts. On the night when the demons battle with the love of her life, she shows courage strong enough to make sure her dream's foreshadowing are not proven true. But Gabriel is bleeding to death and Lily must decide whether or not there is healing in the power of love.
Jennifer Webster creates a page-turner with her smooth style and an excellent weaving of unusual characters into an edgy, paranormal tale. This successfully carries readers to a satisfying, though creatively unique, conclusion. This is a first novel but readers should look forward to more intriguing tales from this talented author.